Hey guys,
What’s the difference between a fairy and a pixie?
Fairy
Origins: All around Europe
Size: 6 Inches
Personality: Kind and want to help people
Appearance: Human-like with large wings, usually has clothes
Powers: Magically inclined, Invisibility, Shapeshifting
Living Spaces: Woods, Water, and Hills (generally referred to as “Fairy Land.”)
Pixie
Origin: United Kingdom
Size: 4 Inches
Personality Traits: Mischievous and want to fight, can like humans and take them for mates, Likes: Dance, Horses, Ribbon, Better Clothing
Pixies replaced the “Three Little Pigs” originally
Appearance: Usually naked or closer to naked than fairies, colored skin/hair with butterfly wings, pointed ears
Powers: Magically Inclined,
Living Spaces: Gardens
Fact: Known to fight with fairies and will trap them for their beauty (also can do this to humans, especially babies).
Similarities
Both can be found in Celtic Mythology
Both are small in stature, though pixies are usually described as being smaller
They both have wings that they can use to fly
They both have magical powers
Differences
Pixies are more mischievous and are usually seen as less human-like.
Pixies are smaller (4 inches to 6 inches)
They live in different areas, pixies generally being in gardens, while fairies are generally in woods and hills
Tinker Bell
Tinker Bell has been seen in a lot of literature and is a poster child for both of these different species. In Peter Pan, she is a fairy and is usually described as a fairy, but in her movies, she is a pixie, so it seems that Disney doesn’t know the difference between the two. If we look at her history then she was first described as a fairy in the original Peter Pan play and then later changed to a Pixie. She also died a year after the Peter Pan original novel and we also see her in “World of Winx” as evil. Tinker Bell is seen as both a fairy and a pixie, but she seems to share more characteristics with fairies.
Tinker Bell appears to be more fairy-like in essence, even though she is described as a pixie. Tinker Bell is 6 inches tall (fairy height) and in Peter Pan appeared to not be as mischievous and was more human in essence. For some reason, she lives in "Pixie Hollow," even though a lot of literature describes her as a fairy (including her original literature). I'd say she's a fairy as well and I think that most people see her as one.
Fairies and pixies aren’t all that different and there is usually a third smaller mythical being associated with them, that being the sprite, but they do have key differences that make them unique. Fairies and pixies can be seen as enemies, especially in Celtic mythology, but they both like pretty things and a lot of fairies are described as pixies later on and a lot of pixies are described as fairies later on, showing that we don’t know completely the differences between the two. Either way, they are both interesting species that have their own culture and background and that is awesome.
Sources
I love Wikipedia and I do trust it and it lined up with almost every other source that I could find (there was one that just seemed completely wrong, but maybe everyone else got their source from Wikipedia).
Will get into Celtic Mythology eventually to confirm everything here eventually :p
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